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Thank you for reading @Valkyrie, I am glad you enjoyed it. I feel like my characters grew up alongside me in this story, being part of an ever changing world as gay men.

I never write micro-fiction, short stories around or under 1,000 words. It's very hard to create a story that I want to write, while reducing details down. Even a single chapter of my shorter stories are usually around 2-3K words. This was a real challenge for me and I am glad I tried to write less. I called my story Reverberations, because I wanted to show how events shape us and how we grow up from these events. I took the idea of Pride similar to others and wanted to create a retrospective. However, I am not part of the HIV/AIDS generation of the 1980's (I was just born at that time), nor am I part of Gen Z, who are now enjoying a level of openness and expression unknown to many from prior generations. I wanted to reflect the generation in-between and the events that shaped Gay Rights in the last 22 years. Here's how I organized my story: (Wednesday, October 13th, 1998) Matthew Shepard's was assaulted and left outside of Laramie, Wyoming on October 6th 1998. He died on October 12th 1998 due to the injuries he suffered. National news would have started picking up the story the following day. This is a formative experience for a young gay kid, you learn that you can die for being openly gay. Caleb's first reaction are fear and shame, it's not his mother's admonishment, but his nascent sexuality. A lot of us around 10 or 11 sort of started knowing about our sexual preferences, but learning to fear it is something I wanted to capture in this short scene. (Thursday, June 26th, 2003) This is the famous Lawrence v. Texas Supreme Court Case ruling occured on this date, which ruled 5-4 to end Sodomy laws, which had made homosexuality basically illegal in the majority of the United States. The US Supreme Court Caleb has been living in fear for 5 years about his sexuality, the court ruling gave him something, a release from the fear and anxiety. This is also the beginning of his legal career choice, since he saw hope for the first time in his young life that things could change. On a relationship level, Caleb had been attracted to a new boy in the neighborhood, Jason, but he had feared making any provocative moves. The Supreme Court ruling gave him more than just a release of fear, it also gave him courage to pursue someone. (Monday, May 17th, 2004) Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that Gay Marriage was legal in the state on this date. It became the first state to allow gay marriage as a result. Caleb and Jason were in a relationship, the implication is that they had fooled around as 16 years olds do. However, both didn't know what or how to move onward with what they had, being gay does not follow the same heterosexual formula for relationships, i.e. there's no end goal of lasting relationship prior 2004. Seeing the potential for a future together helps both boys stabilize their relationship. (Monday, November 10th, 2008) November 2008 was a momentous time, the Great Recession was happening due to mortgage lenders extending home loans too aggressively to people, who couldn't afford the payments and were defaulting, Barack Obama became the first African American President of the United States, and in terms of Gay rights history, Proposition 8 passed in California, which banned gay marriage. Caleb is in college, he's studying law, but he begins to question his own values and struggles. His parents had lost their home due to mortgage lenders and his sexuality even in a place of safety like California had been denied acceptance. Jason delivers the coda for the story here to support his lover and partner, because that is what they see in each other now. What was gained between Caleb and Jason may have come from Court rulings, but the substance of what they found in each other afterwards cannot be denied by popular decree. No matter how much corrupt real estate backed money is flowing through anti-gay coffers for laws or bans, there was no going back into the closet. (Friday, June 26th, 2015) This is the date of the US Supreme court ruling all gay marriages across US was legally binding. This marks a change for Caleb and Jason, they are not only married literally, but also symbolically joining the wider world. Things aren't perfect, but there's a lot of hope that more improvement could occur. Caleb also begins his new job as an assistant District Attorney, wanting to join a system that he viewed has granted him a new lease on life. (Monday, June 4th 2018) Another US Supreme Court case was rendered on this day, the court found religious liberty allows denial of services by religious adherents to gay customers. Caleb is running into a dead end, being used as a token staff member in his office to show tolerance and acceptance, while his career is held back. Denial of service due to religious beliefs against gay people, while empowering religious liberty appeared to be a new set of Jim Crow laws (the name given to the famous laws that denied services to African Americans and others in the US during late 19th to mid 20th century). Caleb was unhappy with his lot in life. (Monday, June 15th 2020) This is the recent Supreme Court case that extended Title VII of Civil Rights Act to gay people and transgender people for anti-discrimination. Caleb has moved on from his old post and living condition, he moved to the east coast (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, ect) and is still with Jason. While they are locked in their home like most people due to COVID-19, they had hope for a brighter future after this court ruling. ---- If I continued this story, I'd probably chronicle Caleb rise to Appeals court judge and eventually, the US Supreme Court

Thanks for reading, I didn't name all the events that occurred, because I wanted to give people the chance to reflect on the details for themselves. Starting with Matthew Shepard murder in 1998, I wanted to offer a window into the life of a gay guy growing up during an era of change, setbacks, hope, fears, and dreams. Micro-fiction does not lend itself to my style of writing, but I tried to offer a taste of who my characters are.

It's a cute story of best friends and revealing, who you are to others. Neat coming of age story.

I like the protagonist and Hone's story, it's a nice slice of life gay coming of age story. Not too much teenage drama, but just enough angst to create a well rounded conflict

Thanks for reading @Wayne Gray, it's sort of like your story, we all have our own issues that we live with and grow from. Also, you and I have different ways of spelling a similarly named character: Jase versus Jace must be some weird cosmic coincidence.

Thank you for reading my story @Mikiesboy, I appreciate it

Thanks for reading. Yes, and I also wanted to point out how a lot of the major achievements (and setback) are equally part of the Supreme Court and the fickle nature of the electorate. Proposition 8 passed in 2008 almost 13 years ago in California, one of the most liberal states out there. I wanted to remind folks life is unpredictable and so is everything we have right now.

Thanks, I tried to give snippets of his life and hoped readers could piece together the character's journey and motivations.

Sexy, dark but colorful, and quite provocative

Very unique and I love the sexy interludes. I'm a huge fan of DC's character Lucifer (and his Netflix incarnation) for the same reason, he represent free will, it's really cool concept for a story.

Pleasant story with the old adage "walking a mile in another person's shoes". Some truths are best experienced rather than heard about. It's simple and good take.

Yeah, liberal cities still has this happening. My ex and I weren't called faggots, but "pretty boys" was the more polite euphemism, while we were grabbing lunch at a Panera. People don't realize the existence of prejudice until they walk a mile in another person's shoes. Good story

I like the characters and the down to earth feel of the situation. People nowadays don't remember the unpleasantness of the past. Without those tragedies, there wouldn't be a Pride Month.

Charming little story about finding the pride within. It's a good story of expression

I love this kind of wholesome, nice story about finding home and family.

I love this story @Valkyrie, it's very sweet and tender.

I liked the rainbow haired Avery, celebrating himself is what Pride is about Express your truth Good little Pride month story

Something for the Hot Summer Months: Chilled Tapioca with Coconut milk and Taro Ingredients: 1 bag of Tapioca pearls 1 can of Coconut Milk/Coconut cream 1 carton of unsweetened Soy milk 1 bag Rock Sugar (add as needed for sweetening) 1 Taro, sliced into bite size pieces 1/2-3/4 cup of water to help cook tapioca pearls Refrigerator space for overnight storage 1 small cooking pot for the Tapioca pearls 1 medium cooking 12 inch pot for the actual chilled Instructions: 1. Cook the tapioca pearls in boiling water over high heat for 5 minutes, then change the cooking temperature to medium heat for about 20 minutes. Do a taste test of the tapioca pearl at 20 minutes, if they are no longer grainy or hold a bite, then you have successfully cooked the tapioca. I know most folks use their eyes to tell wellness based on translucency, but I use the taste test to gauge, both works. 2. In a separate medium 12 inch pot, begin cooking the taro pieces with coconut milk, soy milk, and rock sugar mixture at medium for 20 minutes. At that point the Taro should soften and be soft, if it still feel hard against your cooking spoon, continue to cook a little longer. Taste the mixture once Taro is cooked fully to make sure the sweetness is appropriate to your taste. Add more Rock sugar as necessary or if it is too sweet, add a little soy milk or water to help offset the sweetness. 3. When the Tapioca pearls are ready, strain the tapioca pearls of any remaining hot liquid water and rinse the tapioca pearls substance under cold running water. Do this 2 or 3 times to help separate the Tapioca pearls and reduce their gummy consistency. 4. Mix the cooked tapioca pearls into the coconut/soy/Taro soup base, stir the soup, and let it rest for 10 minutes on the kitchen counter before putting it into the refrigerator. The soup will sit in the refrigerator overnight. 5. Serve as a chilled dessert the following day. --------------- This is a semi-traditional Asian dessert dish, it's not complicated to make and there's a variety of recipe alternatives, some people substitute Taro for Cantaloupe for instance. I like the idea of having a chilled dessert during the summer. If you make it thicker, it's a pudding, or if you add more liquid, it's like chilled soup. Don't worry, very few people judges on consistency, it can be eaten both ways.

(Wednesday, October 13th, 1998) At 10 years old, Caleb was unsure why he focused on the news story, nor why his attention was drawn to a brutal murder thousands of miles away in Wyoming. However, before he could give himself a reason, the TV screen turned black. “You’re too young to know about that stuff, Caleb. Don’t you have a big test tomorrow?” His mother clamored. “Yeah mom, I…uh…Social Studies…” Caleb raced out of the living room, feeling as

June 2021 Pride Month Micro-Fiction Challenge Entry: The Story of Caleb growing up in our modern world

I'll try to write something short for this

Your micro-fiction was fun and evoked a simple kind of game in a fictional universe that has extremely large world-endangering plots. I like the little snip of Percy/Nico relationship, it's a cool what if idea. [In actual canon, Nico is gay and is in a relationship with Will, which works well. However, his first crush was Percy and if only every gay boy's first love could be the one.]

This is interesting and cute take on Percy Jackson/Nico pairing. It's weird that there's only one fan-fiction, when LGBT characters roam free in this universe. [I love the canon in-universe pairing of Nico and Will, too.]

Glad to help, I love reading and writing. I hope you will continue to develop your story and eventually share with others.